Battle of Nedd

The Battle of Nedd was fought in the spring of 886 AD during the Welsh Rebellion against Wessex. A West Saxon army under Prince Aethelhelm crushed Gliwissig's uprising by conquering their last stronghold of Nedd (Neath, Glamorgan) and slaying their king Maic of Gliwissig in battle. Nedd's capture ended Gliwissig's independence and stamped out the last Welsh resistance to Wessex's rule over South Wales.

Background
In 881 AD, the Welsh kingdoms of Gliwissig and Gwent rose in rebellion against King Alfred the Great of Wessex, who was nominally the overlord of South Wales. While Wessex had little political involvement in Wales up until that moment, King Alfred immediately dispatched his nephew Aethelhelm to subdue his rebellious vassals. The Anglo-Saxons took Caerwent by storm, ending Gwent's independence, and they went on to defeat the army of Gliwissig in the Battle of Dinas Powis and follow up their triumph with the capture of Dinas Powis and Lann Ildut. By the winter of 885 AD, the remnants of Gliwissig's army assembled under King Maic of Gliwissig and prepared for their last stand at Neath.

Battle
Aethelhelm and his army marched on Nedd through the winter of 885 AD, taking a few attritional losses along the way; Aethelhelm wanted to capture Nedd and destroy Gliwissig's last army in the same battle. The West Saxons assaulted Nedd in the spring of 886, with their almost 1,600-strong army facing under 300 Welsh warriors under King Maic. The battle was one-sided due to the large disparity in the numbers of warriors fighting for each side. The West Saxon army met the Welsh warriors in the woodland near Neath, and the Welsh were outflanked. However, the Welsh fought bravely, and their scout horsemen mauled a troop of West Saxon horsemen before being outflanked and badly beaten. Maic's death led to his army routing, and the remnants of his force were vigorously pursued. Ultimately, the Saxons lost just 80 men, while the Welsh lost 180; Gliwissig, the last independent kingdom of South Wales, had been brought to heel.

Aftermath
The Battle of Nedd left the King of Gliwissig dead and his army destroyed, allowing for the West Saxons to receive the defenseless village's submission. Gliwissig was annihilated, leaving the Anglo-Saxons in control of South Wales from the River Severn estuary in the east to the River Loughor in the east. The following years would see peace between the Saxons and Welsh, and King Alfred ultimately turned to a policy of alliance rather than conquest, forging strong ties with Dewet and subduing and forcibly vassalizing Morgannwg when it refused to bend to Wessex's will.